Fastening device for panel-board cabinets.



F. B. ADAM.

FASTENING DEVICE FOR PANEL BOAR BINETS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 19, 1

1,027,397,- Patented May 28, 1912.

. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDRICK B. ADAM, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGN OR TO FRANK ADAM ELECTRIC COMPANY, OF ST.'LOUIS, MISSOURI, A. CORPORATION OF MISSOURI.

FASTENING DEVICE FOR PANEL-BOARD CABINETS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 28,1912.

Application filed July 19, 1911. Serial No. 639,401.

T 0 all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, FREDRIcx B. ADAM. a citizen of the 'United States, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovementin Fastening Devices for Panel-Board Cabinets, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art towhich it appertains to make and use the same. V

This invention relat-esto panel board cabinets, and particularly to the means used in such structures 'for securing the front of the cabinet to the box which forms the body portion of the cabinet.

Panel board cabinets usually consist of a sheet metal box thatis set into a wall so-as to form a housing for the panel board and a removable front that is arranged in position after all of the wires have been connected to the panel board. This removable front generally consists of a door and a frame or trim that surrounds the door and which is wide enough to cover the joint or space between the box and'the edges of the opening in the wall in which the box is arranged, said frame being connected to the box by means of screws or bolts which pass through the frame and through a flange on the front edge of the'box. If the box is not set exactly plumbin the wall the frame or trim which forms the front of the cabinet will also be crooked because said frame is held in osition by means of fastening devices which pass through same and through openings in the flange on the front edge of the box. Furthermore, if thebox springs slightly or warps out of shape a great deal of time is wasted during the operation of securing the front frame in position; especially if the front frame is formed of metal as is very often the case with the panel board cabinets now in gen eral use.

One object of my invention is to provide a panel board cabinet of novel construction which is so designed that the frame which forms part of the front of the cablnet can be set plumb even if the box which forms the body of the cabinet is set crooked or not exactly plumb.

And another ob ect is to provide a clamp of novel, construction that 1s adapted to be arranged on the inside of a member which an ob ect is to be clamped and whlch is so bo t and thus cause them to gri designed that it will not shift into an inoperatlve position when it is being tightened.

Figure l of the drawings is a horizontal sectional view of a portion of a panel board cabinet constructed in accordance with my invention Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction indicated by the arrow; and Fig. 3 is a perspective'view of one of the clamps which forms pilirt of the means for retaining the front fraine in position.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate the preferred form of my invention, A designates a box that is set into a .wall so as toform a housing for a panel board B. Said box is preferably formed of sheet .metal and is provided at its front edge with an inwardly projecting portion or flange 1 which extends parallel to the rear wall of the box, as shown in Fig. 1, the box either having a continuous flange or a number of short flanges. The front of the cabinet is detachably connected to the box A, and C011. sists of a door C and a frame D which surrounds said door, said frame being wide enough to cover the joint or space between the box and the edges of the opening in the wall in-which the box is arranged, as shown clearly in Fig. 1. The frame D is secured to the box A by means of clamps E and threaded fastening devices such, for example, as bolts F, which pass through said frame and through the clamps E so as to draw said clamps into intimate engagement with the flange 1 on the box A, as shown in Fig. 1. Each of the clamps E consists of a strip of metal that is=bent or doubled, as shown in Fig. 3, so as to produce two parallel portions 2 through which the bolt F passes, said parallel portions 2 being'provided with threaded openings 3 for receiving said bolt.

In orderto insure sufiicientfriction between the bolt F and-the clamp E to cause the long arm of said clamp to move into engagement with the side wall of the box A when the bolt is introduced into the threaded opening 3 in the clamp, I bend the portions 2 of the clamp toward each other after the screw-threaded openings 3 have been formed therein so as to distort the threads sli htly with relation to the threads onthe the threads of the bolt F tightly when sa1d bolt is insorted in the clamp. In other words, I provide the clamp E with two approximately parallel portions 2 having screwthreads which are distorted slightly with reference to the threads on the bolt F so as to cause the clamp to turn with the bolt until the long arm of the clamp strikes against the side wall of the box A, as shown in Fig. 2. Thereafter the clamp will remain at rest while the bolt F is being tightened orscrewedfart-her into the clamp and consequently said bolt will force the front frame D tightly against the flange 1 on the box and also draw the long arm of the clamp tightly against the inner face of said flange 1.

While I have herein illustrated only one of the clamping devices that is used at the side of the box, it will, of course, be understood that similar clamping devices are used at the top and bottom of the box and at both sides of the box, the box being provided at its front edge with an inwardly projecting flange 1 that extends around the entire edge of the box.

A panel board cabinet of the construction above-described can be installed quickly and easily because the workman does not have to waste time in springing the box .back into shape in case it is warped so as to bring the openings in the flange 1 and in the frame D into alineme'nt with each other, as was necessary with the panel board cabinets heretofore in general use; and another desirable feature of such a cabinet is that the front frame D can be set perfectly plumb even if the box A is set crooked because said box is not provided with any threaded openings which have to aline with openings in the front frame D.

Having thus described what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A fastening device comprising spaced parallel portions, one of which is adapted to engage a stationary member, and a screw or bolt passing through the exposed face of the object with which the device is used and projecting into the screw-threaded openings in the parallel portions of the device, the screw-threads on said parallel portions being distorted with relation to the screwthreads on said screw.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in. the presence of two witnesses,

this seventeenth day of July 1911.

FREDRICK B. ADAM.

Witnesses:

WELLS L. CHURCH, GEORGE ABAKEWELL.

my invention, 

